Wire is frequently wound in continuous lengths and stored within a container or cylindrical drum for shipping or storage purposes. One manner of packaging wire, which is economically desirable, involves the use of a paperboard or cardboard container having a bottom heading and an inner core extending upward from the bottom heading around which the wire may be coiled. In packing the drum, wire is typically drawn from a machine and fed in a continuous process into the container. The wire doesn't actually wind on the core but falls loosely between the core and side walls, and onto the bottom heading. During pay out, the wire emerges having a twist, adding to the difficulty of handling the wire as well as potentially affecting the process using the wire. To compensate, the wire may be pre-twisted prior to being fed into the container, which results in residual spring forces stored within the coil. To keep loops of wire from lifting off of the coil, hold down devices are used to cap the top and/or bottom of the coil.